The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-17

/ Philadelphia and Pittsburg daily in four horse
| coaches. two lines daily, one TO go through in
| half DAYS. In 1888 contractor named Reside
| carried the mail between Philadelphia and New
York. ninety miles. In six hours. making fifteen
| miles an hour The railroad as factor in the
mail service did not have beginning before
1883. August %, of this year. the formal open
| ing OF the road between Washington and Balti-
more took place. Amos Kendall then POST
master-general, at first objected to having the
mails carried by rail over this road, since 1t
would. as he feared, disarrange connections with
| existing lines of stages. In October, 1894 a
writer in the Boston Atlas says: 1--WE left
Pniladelphia on the morning of the 9th in
railway car, and reached Columbia, the Sus-
Quenanna, at dusk-a distance OF eighty
miles"
| Carrying the mail by rail was an experiment.
az first attended by little disbursement.
| The imperfect character of railroad machinery
! often caused delays. The degree Of speed at
tanned by the earlier roads not as great as
could be accomplished by stage coaches Short
| lines OF road here and there tended to confuse
the regular schedule time established by stage
| lines. In 1888 the department complained
| that the mails from New York to Philadelphia
| were unusually late, requiring more than th,r-
teen hours from Jersey City. The language OF
the complaint continued: This was hardly the
case in the worst days of bad staging. There
have been two failures of the mails from beyond
Philadelphia at this city (Washington) in the
course OF the present week. occasioned, it is
said, by accidents to the locomotive on the Am
boy and Camden road. From the experience
which we have had, the adaptation of the rail-
ROAD purpose TRANSPORTATION
becoming daily more and moro questionable"
The railway mail service at it's beginning was
entirely without system. Postal officials and
railroad managers alike appeared to possess no
practical ideas On the subject of transporting or
handling the mails. Some OF the crude ideas on
the subject entertained by the Postmaster-gen-
manner in which the mails were to be secured
while in transit, he suggested that the railroad
company between Washington and Baltimore
might close in some portion of their baggage car,
to be secured by lock and key at one end of the
line. only to be opened by the postmaster at the
other terminus of the road. Ii this idea was
not found practicable, it was suggested that the
department would furnish strong fire.
It could be readily transferred from
purpose, into which chest or box the entire mails
could De placed. and locked up at the postoffce
making up the mail, and not to be opened by
any one while on the way to the Office of destls
nation. The most novel idea was that of
structng mail-car on wheels, capable of being
on the railroad track so that the car might be
drawn through the city from the depot to the
postoffice. where the mails were to be placed in
it. and tho again returned to the depot,
placed on the track, and attached to the regular
train.
The increasing quantities of mail matter to be-
carried called for improved methods and in 1916
Mr.. George Pitt, who had been sent make OBJ
servatons of the methods there in use reported
that each railway company provided a separate
for the postofice use, fitted mp with boxes to
facilitate the reception and distribution of the
mails.
The doom OF the old time distributing office
was sealed with the advent of the railway post
effice The discovery of this method of
distributing and Fastening the mails made
july 1862. by William Fl. Davis, of st. Joseph,
Missouri an employee of the postoffice in thai
city In that month he operated the first post
Office ever placed on wheels in this country,
on the Hannibal & st. Joseph railroad. Tho
plan proved to be SO eminently successful that
it speedily came into general use, and worked a
revolution in the railway mail service. Before
the day of the railway postoffice, letters crept
as snais, and since its advent they fly as on the
wings of steam. Under this system there is
never a pause in tho onward flight of the mails
until the Offices of destination are reached
Through letters. like restless footballs,
tossed from one flying postofice car to another.
until the end of the route is reached or they are
consigned to the slower movements OF stage
coaches or pony expresses. Way mail is snatched
up by the flying postoffice cars, and is uncer-
enormously dropped again when the Office Of
destination glimmers past. The postal clerk is
genius who must necessarily understand the
name and locality OF every artery vein. tissue
and fibre in the entire postal system. When he
takes up letter addressed to remote office he
must, at a glance, understand the various lnes
of travel which it Is to pass, and it is his
duty to send it by the most expeditions route.
The postal clerk is required to commit to MEM
DRY the names of all the offices contained in the
various States included in his division. The av-
erage number of offices SO committed is about
eight thousand for the entire system. Perhaps
the most difficult duty known to the postal clerk
is that of distributing the mails for
the the larger cities: It is very difficult
yet the postal clerk is required to distribute all
New York mail by stations, streets numbers,
and boxes. Fifth avenue Hotel mail is thrown
into its proper box at "Station E." The Grand
Central gets it's letters 'Station A." So OF all
firms, institutions and leading indi viduals. The
manner A letter addressed to No. las Wash
ineton street would be placed in package for
Carrier No. 15" The Times building mail
is carried by No. 33;n the Tribune by 'No 36n
ha ri erE mi ha all
routes as famiiiarly as he does the faces of his
best friends His car, with it's tier over tier
Of pigeon-holes, and its ranks of vawnng mail
bags, is to him no labyrinth Of mysteries. HIS
eyes are in his fingers and the skillful must
clans touch is not more accurate than the aim
OF this wizard OF the mail car The depart-
ment rules are exacting, and il occasional
error results from the hurried manner in which
the mail is thrown, in course OF distribution. it
whose hands the stray piece of mail falls and e
report of it is at once sent to the division super
intsndent to be charged against a the clerk
June 80, 1885, the number of letters and other
pieces of small mail matter distributed was s..
329, 52l ,475 The number Of errors made in
handling this vast quantity of matter was only
1890 443 The number OF pieces handled, for
each error committed were 1928, thus making
the percentage Of correct distribution 80 80. All
employees are requested to attest their skill by
frequent examinations and for this purpose
much Of the leisure time of each Is devoted to
studying the mail schemes OF the various States
attached to the division in which he is employed
The organization Of the mail system en-
braces nine grand divisions. over each of which
presdes general superintendent. The num-
Der of persons at present employed in the serv.
ice is about 600. Eacn railway postofice is
manned by an organized crew, having head
clerk in charge and every detail of the work Ia
systematized.
The life of a postal clerk is beset by many
hardships. Since the year 1877. between seven
and oil ht hundred casualties have occurred in
the service, incident mainly to railroad acct
dents. The nature of the service entails steady
Impairment of the physical system. owing ia
constant strain on the nerve forces, irregulari.
ties of diet and rest, and other causes.
To Architects, SculptOrS and DESIGNERS,